Marathon Training: Week 2 - Cross Crunchy (aka. Cross Country)

After completely missing my weekly goal mileage to, "rest" with a much needed nap after work; which may only come around as often as that lunar eclipse the other week, I still managed to get in my weekend warrior status!  With some decent miles throughout the week, a baby workout on Wednesday, and a long run, it all culminates into one tired individual.  I honestly don't know how I use to do it in the past, which brings me to my next point.  I am not as young as I use to be, nor am I anywhere near the same person.  I've already slowly learned that I can not do the same workouts I did in the past, so I need to throw out those old running logs and move on.... actually, those old running logs are my pride and joy, so I will never throw them away.  But seriously, I have come to peace with how I need to train in order to accomplish some of those fast times.  For starters, it's already been 2 years since my last stress fracture, and I try to stay away from double days because of that.  I don't know if it really works, since most of the "scientist" out there claim two different benefits from running singles verses doubles, but for my lifestyle, along with some basic math, I can only realistically run once a day.  I'm okay with that.  Also, I only need one workout a week along with a solid long run.  So, that's that.  Let's see how well this training will go.

This week also had me toeing the line of a cross country meet.  The Lobo Invite 5k!  Wow, how wonderful.... except for the fact that I am not in 5k shape, nor am I in cross country shape, nor am I in any kind of shape to be racing.  But it's always awesome and special to race as a team, and the Dukes TC had one hell of a team this year.  We got some young talent, with some freshly minted college graduates that are willing to work harder than ever to chase the Marathon Trials Standard with all their heart.  So, with those guys at the helm, and a few other DTC guys pushing everyone, we did alright at the College Meet.  I was our 6th runner and basically our top 5 guys had a faster average time than the UNM Lobos.  15:56 average to 15:59.  However, we didn't win due to points.  We lost by 1 freakin point!  It took a lot of work to add up the scores, but the final score would have been 37 - 38 with the Lobos beating us by 1 lousy point.... man, I need to run faster!

Here's the results:

Week of Training:

Mon - pm. 6 miles
Tue - pm. 6 miles
Wed - pm. 2 mile warm-up, 4x1 mile w/3min rest (5:28, 5:23, 5:21, 5:20), 4 mile cool down. 10 total
Thur - 0 miles - napped
Fri - am. 4 miles. pm. 6 miles w/strides
Sat - am. 2 mile warm up, Lobo Invite 5k - 16:34, 6 mile cool down. 11 total
Sun - am. 20 mile long run. 2:22:24

Total: 63 miles

Getting Ready for Summer Training

As summer is approaching at super sonic speed, and my body is starting to feel recovered after my death march of a race in Boston, I can honestly say I'm excited to train for another marathon.  The cataclysm of a race in Boston was humbling and stocking.  I feel I will forever have some PTSD, or some extensively repressed memories from that "race".  It was a stock to know I was never in the shape I thought I was in. In fact, I probably had no clue what shape I was in and could've just picked a random time out of a hat.  Instead, I incorrectly guessed I was in 2:30 shape.  And with the weather being a little warmer and dryer than usual, I knowingly went out even faster than my self-prescribed time.  I believe I latched on to a 2:28 group and dumb heartingly strolled along for as long as possible; which was only about 9 miles.  After that, the rest was a painful blur.  It was a long crawl home to the finish, and two distinct things came to mind after I was painfully lifting one leg after the other.  One thought was the fact that I wasn't injuring myself in the slow and miserable process I called, running. And the other thought was how actually grateful I was to be on the pavement in Boston, running in the Boston Marathon.

The thought of running in the Boston Marathon is a dream of mine and many runners alike.  Of course, my dream of racing Boston wasn't to see the hour mark tick anywhere near 3 hours.  But I was still beyond appreciative of being able to run the distance and make it from start to finish without hurting myself.  The only thing I hurt was my reputation, and that will take some time to heal.  Otherwise, I saw zero reason to quite and drop out.  I've never dropped out of a race in my life, and I sure as heck wasn't going to drop out of the Boston Marathon.  I thought to myself, I may never get the chance to race/run in Boston again, so you better not drop out.  I have my pride of running quick and putting everything I have on the line in most of the races I compete in.  I hate losing, but to me; the worst thing than losing is giving up for the shake of not winning.  I've talked to a lot of people after the race, and I've gotten a lot of congratulatory compliments, but of course I know I ran beyond what words could describe as horrendous.  "Like Crap" or "I don't even know what happened" are my usual responses to most people who have an idea of how slow I ran.  But, deep down it was a learning experience and I learned a lot.  I learned you can't average low mileage and only one 20 miler and expect to run a fast marathon.  I learned how important all the workouts shape and build you as a runner.  And most importantly, I experienced how well you need to tune into your body and ask it to do something that's incredible.

Just before the screaming women of Wellesley College

So moving forward with a healthy and recovered body I can look to the sunrises of about 70 days of solid work-free training.  It'll be like I'm a professional runner once summer roles around in a sheer 3 days away.  I have my eyes set on the New Mexico road 5k championships this summer, along with many miles of training for a Fall Marathon.  The options are still there, so I haven't decided on what would be the best choice.  Part of me would like to run a lower key marathon and attempt to win one.  And another part of me wants redemption and attempt the fastest course possible with the best opportunity for a fast time.  It's still undecided.  The main factor that has been decided is some solid training.  I'll be looking to build my aerobic threshold and concentrate solely on marathon specific workouts this summer.  I'd like to get comfortable again with longer tempo runs and consistent mileage.  I also have been weary of a stress fracture recurring, so I won't be too aggressive with the double days or über high mileage.  All in all, I have a great feeling about this summer and I'm excited to be back training again.

Prior to the Carnage

Pre-Race racing kit

An Old Roommate from College (Mike Crouch)

        

Stress Fractures SUCK!!!

Yes, it's been forever since my last post, and I have a tendency to not write when I am hurt.  My thoughts are, who cares about someone whose hurt and on the sidelines...?  I'd much rather be writing about awesome workouts and races that have a lasting memory.  But, injuries happen to all of us, and they leave lasting memories on us as well.

My latest injury was another stress fracture in my right tibia.  This time, I felt like a caught it early and took sufficient time off (8 weeks).  My question is, why the heck do I keep getting an injury on the same leg in the same region?  There must be an imbalance or something causing extra stress to that area, but the docs don't really know.  I'm doing physical therapy at Quadra Health Institute once a week, so that seems to be helping my imbalances a bit.  I have also taken the very slow approach of running again.  Or, at least I believe this is a slow approach...

This past summer I felt like training was going really well.  I never got up to 100 miles a week, but I had some quality workouts.  Things seemed on track for a solid half marathon in September and a full marathon in Chicago.  The timeline of events went something like this: end of August I felt a little pain in my right tibia, took 2 weeks off, ran for 2 weeks into early September thinking the pain was an acute injury and had subsided, realized it was getting worse the more I ran, stopped running, went to a podiatrist and continued to not run for 8 weeks, the end.

On November 16th, I ran for the first time for 15 minutes to test it out.  I was out of breath, tired but thrilled to not have any pain in my leg.  For the remainder of the week I ran every other day for 15 minutes for a total of 6 miles in the week.  The following week I doubled my mileage to 12 miles, kinda crazy, I know!  Then last week I kept going with a whopping 18 miles and a 30 minute continuous run.  Everything seems to be going well, I'm not feeling pain in my leg when I run, but I have noticed that afterwards I have a weird feeling.  It's very similar to my last stress fractures, as it's been commonly called "Phantom Pain".  This pain or feeling is typically caused by a build up of calcium in the area of the stress fracture pressing outward on nerves or tissue.  After doing quite a bit of research, it's been reassuring to know I am not getting hurt again, and that this sensation is very common.  However, I am not going to be stupid and go crazy with my training.  Going into my 4th week of running give me confidence to keep training, but only with a conservative approach.  I don't really have a rush to get back into things, so I'll slowly increase my base and race when I feel ready enough to.

To conclude this past marathon cycle, I have failed miserably in an attempt to qualify for the 2016 USA Olympic Marathon Trials.  However, I still feel that my best marathon time is ahead of me, and that I have many more amazing races to come.  I know I can't do the same thing I have in the past.  I've gotten older, so therefore I should be wiser - I know I'm not that wise yet, but am aiming for that wisdom.  So something has to change, which will be my training and training philosophy.

"If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got."
-Mark Twain

17 days out from the 17th of October and Duke City Half Marathon

I am a little late posting this, but it was intended to be posted on the 17th of October...

Well, 17 has always been my lucky number, and on this iconic day of my birth, I look 17 more days until the New York City Marathon.  I think the one mistake many runners make is the constant self-assessment of their training.  I too have fallen victim to my own observation as I've created an eyeglass into the past months calculating what went well and where I went wrong with my training.  I've already pinpointed it to when I started my teaching job, and the immense amount of time spent at school.  I could go further back to the summer heat that kept me comfortably away from logging mega miles.  Either way, I still feel the fitness is there and I can run a great race considering the circumstances.  I will (and have run a half marathon) on October 21st, as part of the Duke City Marathon weekend, and my last big marathon workout.  I planned on racing it as a marathon pace workout, and the success of it couldn't have been better.

The Duke City Half Marathon:

From the start of this race I had two goals: 1) to run it as a workout, 2) win it.  Once the gun went off at 7:30 am, I took the lead and started to keep a comfortable pace.  My first mile in the Duke City was 5:23, and right away I could feel two Africans sitting on me.  I didn't want to worry too much about it, since I was just going to run my own race, but deep down it really bugs me, especially since there's no money involved in this race.  Why wouldn't you want to work together and run a decent time together?!  Well, this guy didn't want to help out at all.  I lead the next 6 miles in, 5:21, 5:19, 5:17, 5:12, 5:17 & 5:12.  After mile 7, and after one of the African's faded, the Moroccan put in a good surge on me over the next 2 miles.  I could only maintain a 5:21 and a 5:20 for the next miles.  Also at this point in the race, the half marathon flips around and runs back into the crowd of other runners.  So, after mile 9 and about 20 seconds back from the Moroccan, I decided I could still run a good effort and not kill myself before New York City.  I start to clip off a 5:19, 5:18 and another 5:18 for miles 10, 11 and 12.  By this point, the leader is slightly fading, but he still feels too far away.  All the 10k runners that we are passing on our way back to the finish are cheer me along with encouraging words to "catch him", as if by saying something will automatically create a hidden energy source in me.  Well, it kind of motivated me as I was able to drop a 5:09 last mile and attempt to kick towards the finish.

With about 200 meters to go, both myself and the Moroccan are finishing strong, and I was able to gain on him to finish 1 second behind him.  It's a bit discouraging to lead a race for that amount of distance, only to be used.  I distinctively and deliberately remember slowing down to grab water and allowing this Moroccan to take the lead.  But instead, he would slow down to a pace that I didn't feel was honest.  At times, I would run next to him to work together instead of right behind him, as he would do, but the pace would still falter.  As you can tell, I am a bit frustrated with this, especially since NO money was at stake.  I wish I had another gear to out kick him at the end, and snag a hidden prize purse; but in reality, neither scenario happen.  My time of 69:45 was a solid effort and indicator of where I am at.  And of course, the only indicator of a marathon, is to run one...  Which is what is going to happen in 12 days!

More to come on my thoughts on how to race this thing!                 

Chips and Salsa Half Marathon & the road to NYC (Week 11)

Race week! Half Marathon race week that is, and it's at altitude, so it doesn't really feel like a race, but it fits in perfect for my marathon training, as I wanted to get in about 13-15 miles at marathon pace. Granted, this half marathon wasn't paced perfectly like workout, and money was on the line, so I raced it to a certain degree...

Well, the week starts off pretty easy with some mileage and one workout of an 8 mile continuous tempo run on the river, then a few regular mileage days followed by the Sunday extravaganza!

The workout on Wednesday was good old fashion tempo run of 8 miles. The pace was pretty even, for the most part, and the splits were (5:33, 5:22, 5:15, 5:26, 5:17, 5:16, 5:24, 5:18). That left me pretty tired for a few days, but with just enough energy to be ready to go on Sunday... The Chips and Salsa half marathon has turned into a classic meeting place for me since I've moved here. It's been a great experience and usually pays top 3; which I've come in 3rd the last two times I've run it in 2008 and 2010. This time, I was looking for a bigger check and a faster time; hopefully the better time would come first and the check would just follow. And it did, as I ran away with the victory and lead our Track Club to a 1-2-3 overall sweep! The Dukes Track Club ran a great race that day as Kris Houghton put's it best in our Dukes Track Club Blog. I have my splits as follows (5:06, 5:00, 5:06, 5:09, 5:14, 5:16, 5:07, 5:15, 5:25, 5:21, 5:26, 5:06) and one mile in there is missing...? Well, I finished with a time of 1:08:22, and good enough for that 1st place victory, a nice check, and a sweet metal plate made in Turkey!

Week 11

Mon - am. 10 miles easy

Tue - am. 10 miles easy / pm. 4 miles easy

Wed - am. 8 mile tempo (5:33, 5:22, 5:15, 5:26, 5:17, 5:16, 5:24, 5:18) total 12 miles / pm. 8 miles easy

Thur - am. 8 miles easy / pm. 12 miles easy

Fri - am 8 miles easy / pm. 6 miles easy

Sat - am. 12 miles med / pm. 4 miles easy

Sun - am. Chips and Salsa 1/2 Marathon 1:08:22 / pm. 6 miles easy

Total: 116 miles

Marathon Training (Week 10)

Another solid week of training, balanced with other hectic things in life...

Starting on Monday, I decided to sleep in a bit till 7:00 am and take the day off of running. This was planned, as I usually take one day off every three weeks. This week only called for two basic workouts, which would take place on Wednesday and one in the middle of the long run on Sunday.

Wednesday's workout was a somewhat complicated 3 mile tempo, 3 mile tempo and a final 2 mile tempo all with 3 minutes rest in between each tempo run. As usual, it was done on the river. Now, at 5:30 am it's starting to become hard to see as the sun doesn't rise this early anymore... This week wasn't too bad, but I'm sure the weeks to come will be pitch black as we're running our tempo runs. Nevertheless, it was a good workout with times of (5:30, 5:23, 5:16) for the first set, then (5:16, 5:14, 5:24) for the next 3 miles, followed by (5:16, 5:19). I usually slowed down on the last mile because I felt that I didn't need to push it and was really relaxed. The next few days were just mileage and recovery with some strides here and there. Sunday's workout was tough, but much needed to simulate the marathon. It was a 22 miler with about 3 1/2 mile warm up, followed by 2x2 miles at tempo pace with 2 minutes in between, then 10 miles easy and another tempo of 3 miles... Those splits for the tempo portion were: (5:14, 5:16), 2 minutes jog rest, (5:10, 5:20), 10 miles medium-easy effort, (5:14, 5:16, 5:22). Now, that was one of the toughest workouts I've ever done.

All and all, this was a great week filled with crazy workouts that make me want to stay in bed, but force me to rise to the occasion and stay the course!

Week 10

Mon - Off Day

Tue - am. 10 miles easy

Wed - am. tempo run: 3 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles w/3min rest (5:30, 5:23, 5:16) (5:16, 5:14, 5:24) (5:16, 5:19) total 13 miles/ pm. 10 miles easy

Thur - am. 10 miles easy / pm. 10 miles easy w/3x strides

Fri - am. 8 miles easy / pm. 12 miles easy

Sat - am. 9 miles med / pm. 10 miles easy

Sun - am. 22 miles w/2x2 miles at tempo (5:14, 5:16) 2 min jog rest (5:10, 5:20) 10 miles med/easy 3 mile tempo (5:14, 5:16, 5:22)

Total: 112

High Mileage

Last week was an all time high for mileage. I hit 141 miles for the week with two solid workouts and a long 40k run to finish out the week. This was planned of course, and was the peak mileage for this marathon cycle. The following week (this past), was a race week with little tapering and resting. I ran a half marathon here in Albuquerque at altitude and ran it as a marathon specific workout. It went really well and I hit my splits dead on. I fell off a little bit at the end, but that could have been because of the fast miles at the beginning, and a slight deviation that occurred in the race.

Getting lost in an Albuquerque road race is quite common since many races aren't that marked or marshaled correctly. But, either way it was a great effort and I was pleased with the outcome. We basically made a 210 meter detour which costed about 40 seconds in the race, with a steeple barrier. The 2010 Chips and Salsa half marathon, was still a great event and I was pleased to push hard in those conditions. My splits are: [5:02, 5:15, ???, ???, 5:11, 5:10, 5:20, 5:08, 5:10, 5:21, 5:23, 5:26, 5:17, ???]. So I was pleased. Chicago is looking good at this point.

Mileage break down:

9/6 - 9/12

Mon - 10 easy

Tue - am track workout 12x 1000m. 14 miles

pm easy 8 miles.

Wed - am easy 10 miles

pm easy 12 miles

Thur - am easy 14 miles

pm easy 6 miles

Fri - am 10 mile tempo. 14 miles total

pm easy 8 miles

Sat - am easy 12 miles

pm easy 8 miles

Sun - 25 mile long run

Total: 141

9/13 - 9/19

Mon - Off, no running

Tue - am easy 8 miles

pm easy 10 miles

Wed - am 18 miles w/6 miles @ marathon pace (5:31, 5:23, 5:15, 5:19, 5:18, 5:14)

pm easy 6 miles

Thur - pm 12 miles

Fri - am easy 4 miles

pm easy 12 miles

Sat - am easy 7 miles

pm easy 4 miles

Sun - am 1/2 marathon 1:08:54. total 17 miles

pm easy 4 miles

Total: 102

Albuquerque

This past weekend was an exciting weekend with many running related events going on.  First off, the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships were in town, so all the local runners were at the Indoor facility along with the sold out crowd to watch all the distance events.  Saturday started off with the Mountain West Conference Championships, were plenty of UNM athletes got to compete and rock the Mountain West Conference.  Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this meet, which I was very upset about.  But, I was able to attend the US Indoor Championships that evening following the Mountain West Championships.

The highlights of the evening in my opinion were the the mens and womens 3000m final.  The men's race went out at a pedestrian pace with Lagat controlling the jog for about a kilometer.  After that a few other guys slightly took the lead, but still remained at a meandering pace of 4:40 for the mile.  It was a hard race to watch among the fans who wanted to see a "race" transpire, but with about 400 meters to go, Lagat started his kick and took the field with ease.  Rupp was second in this race, so both of them get to go to the World Championships in Qartar.  

After watching that race, I regret not trying to qualify for it and have the privilege to race against some of the best mid-distance runners in the country.  When I saw the leaders coming through at 4:40, and some guys falling off from that pace, it only inspired me to enter in this race next year and race to the best of my potential, and hopefully other guys will do the same.  Instead, this race was more of a sit and kick race, with only a few of those guys able to sit and kick without much contention.  

Anyways, training now is focused on the spring marathon and a 10k on the track about a month before the marathon.  Speaking of which, I need to buy my ticket.  Hopefully a special someone will be there and I can watch her (Laura) run the 5000m to a new PB.  So, training is more strength oriented with longer and more constant tempo runs and only one track workout a week, which was done this past tuesday (16 x 400m - avg. 66).  Hopefully things turn out for the best.    

UNM Lobo Indoor 3k

Running a PR is always something to be happy with, which is what occurred this past weekend.  It was another UNM indoor race, with loads of runners in all sorts of events.  Allyson Felix was at the meet and she ran a Stadium record in the 400m in 52.05!  So that was sweet to see.  Then it was nice to see some of the UNM guys and girls run well leading up to the mens 3k.  I knew in the weeks leading up to this race, that it was going to be stacked with a grip load of studs and NCAA All-Americans.  So, it was nice to see that I made it into that heat, as there were two heats of this race.  

To name a few guys, we had: Rory Fraser (13:39 5k), Patrick Smyth (1:02 half-marathon among other top 5 performances at USA Championships), Ben Bruce (8:26 sc), Jason Lehmekule (5th at the US Marathon Trials, 2:14) and a couple of other sub 14:00 5k guys.

So, with all this talent in the field and a rabbit to pace the leaders through at 8:05 pace for 3k, it was going to be exciting.  There was a waterfall start, and since I was seeded second to last in this heat I was on the waterfall on the outside lanes, which was fine.  Once the gun went off, everyone took off like a bat out of hell.  Our little group didn't cut in, until the 100m mark and I positioned myself around 6th or 7th place through the first 400m.  After that point, I was still running in lane 2 so I decided to move up and sit on the inside lane, but there was no way to get in unless I moved up to 4th place behind Rory and Smyth.  So, like an impatient runner I did exactly that.  I was nice and secure in 4th place through the 800m mark in about 2:13.  The pace started to heat up and I was holding on while a few guys passed me as we hit the mile in about 4:24.  I was in about 7th place at this time and Jason Lehmekule started to move and pass a bunch of us on the outside.  At that point I decided I could go with him and position myself back in 4th place, since at this point the rabbit dropped off and the leaders were now: Smyth, Fraser and Lehmekule.  I was in 4th again for a short amount of time as Ben Bruce passed  me and then Aucencio Martinetz passed me as well.  Naturally, I tried to stick on them but could only hold their pace for a few hundred meters and would fade off of each of them.  I could hear the announcer and the crowds going nuts, since it was a great battle between UNM's Rory Fraser and Team USA Minnesota's Patrick Smyth at the bell lap.  I could see them killing each other as I was trying to close the gap on Lehmekule, since Bruce and Martinetz passed him, but that didn't happen in the finally 200 meters.  The crowd roared to Fraser's win of 8:08 and a wake of runners that still bettered the Stadium record of 8:10.  Four guys went under the old record and Lehmekule finished in 8:13 as I was kicking in just under 8:20 with a new PR of 8:19.99.  

It has a catchy ring to say 8:19, instead of 8:20... So I was full of smiles and happy to run that fast before the US Cross Championships.  I know two of those guys in my race are racing Cross, so its going to be a great race out there in Spokane.  I am getting excited and wonder how fast I could run a 5k at sea level...?  Sub 14:00?  And I don't know if I'll get the chance to do that this year.  It would be nice, but it also would be nice to make a US Team.  I think I'll go for the US team and see what happens.

Results:

http://www.golobos.com/sports/c-track/stats/2009-2010/unm13010_res.html

Article:

http://www.dailylobo.com/index.php/article/2010/02/dashingfellows_best_their_own_times 

Lobo Mile

Well, this past weekend I ran the mile here in Albuquerque and it went well.  The UNM indoor track is an amazing facility and I always enjoy racing on it.  Although, this was only my second time racing on it, it was still a great experience.  There were about seven guys in our race, of which two of them are sub 4 minute milers at sea level.  Kris and I knew we had no business racing those guys, so we decided to trail them and close fast.  We went out somewhat conservative and then I started to press the pace in attempts to close the second half of the race faster than the first half.  One of the UNM guys (Matt Everett) was with me when we separated from the chase pack and then with about 400 to go I started to push even harder with the intent to "kick".  The winner of the race ran 4:08, second was 4:10 and I was third in 4:14.  Matt ran 4:18 and Kris ran 4:24.  All in all it was great to get on the track and move that fast.  It is something well needed before US Cross.

Race Video:

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236281/265880

    

Twin Cities Marathon

As I keep reading about the Elite Fields for the Twin Cities Marathon, and the American hopefuls to win this event, it becomes very inspiring.  The race is only 11 days away and I can't wait for it to start.  The two American hopefuls are Luke Watson and Jason Hartman, both very talented runners.  This will be Watson's debut marathon, so it will be interesting to see how he does, and Hartman was 10th at the 2007 Olympic Trials.  That combination makes for a pretty decent American Field.  I just hope to be in the mix with those guys.  At this point, I feel very confident in racing my own race, and not worrying about things I can't control.  

So, as far as training goes, last week (9/14/09) went really well.  We had one fartlek workout on tuesday, which consisted of 5 sets of 3-2-1.  The rest of the week leading up to sunday's long run/tempo was just easy mileage.  Now, sunday's long run/tempo was interesting.  As usual, we start late because Kris and I are off marking a 10k loop that we will run marathon goal pace at, at the end of our long run.  Once that "course" it set up, we leave some water bottles and fuel, and head over to meet up with the rest of the gang.  The long run starts off fine, with everyone: Me, Kris, Robby, Dustin, and Josh goofing off and trotting along the river for 12 miles.  Oh, and every so often Kris gets a bright idea to throw in a surge for a minute to spice things up... Well, once we finish 12 miles (or so), we head over to "the course" and start the last 10k of our long run.  Unfortunately, I started us off a little too quick and forgot to start my watch (so we had no idea how fast we were going), but I think it went well.  The course had a few turns through some neighborhoods, past some pit-bulls that wanted us dead, a few disgruntled sunday morning drivers and finished by a lovely fire station... All and all, it could have been worst.  I actually liked the course and I think we will use it for more of these marathon simulation workouts.  But, as I was saying, we didn't get a full time on the 10k loop, but I'm pretty sure we got the last 2 miles, which were in 11:11.

On tuesday, our other semi-last workout of the season, we just did 5x1000m at Albuquerque Academy.  This was another makeshift workout, since lanes 1-3 were blocked.  We had to calculate the correct stager in lane 4 and stay in lane 4.  That workout went well and Kris, Allen and I worked together on it.  

As we have 11 days till the marathon, I just hope to stay healthy and hungry to race.  "Tapering" is an interesting experience, and I don't even know if we are doing it right, but either way I know we'll be ready at the start of that marathon.